


Fly on the Wall

by Hester (hester4418)



Series: Guess Who? [9]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Guess the episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 06:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4008772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hester4418/pseuds/Hester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ficlet written in response to VAMB's "Guess the Pairing Anniversary Event 2014". The object was to write short stories about any pairing of established characters without mentioning any names, and then for the readers to guess the protagonists. This particular story is a little different in that you're supposed to guess the episode instead of the characters. It's not terribly difficult, so please give it a try!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fly on the Wall

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Star Trek: Voyager and all its characters belong to Paramount Pictures; no infringement of copyright is intended. The story however belongs to me.
> 
> Written January 2014.
> 
> The correct answer is listed at the bottom of the story - I've put in some spoiler space, so if you want to guess, don't scroll down too quickly!

From the personal logs of Kenneth Dalby:

This day didn't quite turn out the way I expected it to. In particular, I didn't expect to be sitting here tonight. I thought... Actually, I'm not sure what _exactly_ I thought, but I was definitely hoping for a drink among friends. Maybe even a party, depending on who would've been there. An official reception might have been too much to hope for, but in any case I sure as hell didn't expect to be sitting _here_ , and all by myself.

It's like people are consciously avoiding each other tonight; no one wants to own up to almost jumping ship. I went to the mess hall earlier to grab a quick bite, but dinner was a disaster as usual. On a day like this, you'd think that Neelix would make more of an effort to cook up something special, or at least something palatable. No such luck though. I wish I hadn't spent all my replicator rations on this damn bag that I'm not going to use now.

I thought for sure that Gerron would stay. Or if not him, then Jarvin and Yosa. The way they'd been talking about it, I was certain that they'd made up their minds. Guess I was wrong. And Tabor… All he could talk about yesterday was how much he liked the city, and how friendly everyone was. He even stayed behind after the rest of us went back to the ship, and claimed this morning that he'd spent the night with one of the tour guides who'd been showing us around. Knowing Tabor, I wouldn't put it past him. He's always complaining about feeling cooped up, so I thought he'd jump at the chance of staying planetside.

There were quite a few others who were undecided. Me, I'd made up my mind the minute the captain's announcement came through. I thought it was very gracious of her to leave the decision up to everyone individually. Wouldn't have guessed she could be so… considerate.

Anyway, so I showed up with fifteen minutes to spare. No one else was there, but I wasn't worried. Especially Jarvin and Yosa are always late for everything, and Tabor likes to appear at the very last minute and make a grand entrance. I felt sure that they'd turn up shortly.

Ten minutes later, I wasn't so sure anymore. I wanted to call them, but I'd foolishly dressed in civvies and left my combadge in my quarters since I figured that we'd probably leave right away. After all, _Voyager_ was scheduled to depart this same night.

I checked the corridor, but it was empty. Now I was really worried. What if I was the only one who'd made the decision to stay? I really wanted to, but when I thought about starting fresh all by myself, without any of my Maquis comrades or at least some friendly faces in a sea of strangers, doubts crept into my mind. We'd only visited the planet for a few short days, how could I be sure that life there was really as grand as it appeared at first glance?

What I did next was the most cowardly thing I've done in my entire life. I ducked behind a row of storage containers and hid from view.

I hadn't moved a moment too soon. Just as I crouched down, I heard the doors opening, and I cautiously peeked out from my hiding place.

Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay entered the bay side by side and looked around. They clearly hadn't expected the space to be empty.

She smiled at him in obvious relief. But then she suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and started to cry. I realized only then how wound up she must have been, emotions stretched thin, nearing the breaking point. And that point had just arrived.

Chakotay just stood there for a second, wearing that serene smile that has become common for him ever since we left the Cardies far behind, but I could tell that he was incredibly relieved and moved as well. And then he reached out to place a hand on her arm.

It was enough to make her turn – toward him, into his arms, and he held her as she sobbed. I could see his face over her shoulder, and if I'm not mistaken he was close to tears as well.

It didn't last long, probably just a minute or so. Then she stepped back and started to apologize while wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"Stress relief," he said simply. "Sooner or later, we all break down if pushed too hard."

"I don't." She shook her head, and the tone of her voice left no doubt that she was serious.

"Maybe you should," he said softly. "Let them see sometimes that you're only human."

"I don't have that luxury, Chakotay."

He didn't answer. I'm pretty sure that he wanted to protest but thought better of it. On a day like today, he probably didn't want to upset her further by disagreeing with her.

Janeway rubbed her hands over her cheeks and wiped at her eyes again. Then she looked up at him. "How do I look?"

"Stalwart as ever."

I heard her chuckle. He offered her his arm and she took it, and they walked out together. When the doors closed behind them, I finally dared to move.

I went back to my quarters and have been staring at my packed bag ever since. I had been ready to leave _Voyager_ , and I'm still not sure if I made the right decision by chickening out at the last moment. I'm not unhappy here, but there's got to be more to life than spending our days pursuing a goal that we're unlikely to reach before we're old and gray.

Maybe I'll stay behind at our next stop. After all, there's nothing holding me here, is there?

-==/ The End \==-

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_-==/ Episode: The 37's \==-_

_That really wasn't difficult, right? The next story in this series is a classic "guess the pairing" once more..._


End file.
